‘This is an Absolute Tragedy’: 1-Year-Old Baby Found Dead in Car Parked Outside Day Care Center

Police in New South Wales, Australia, responded to a call at a child care center on February 4, 2025, and found a devastating scene. Just after 5:30 p.m., emergency responders arrived and reportedly found a 1-year-old girl dead inside a car outside the facility. But what exactly happened to the little girl remains under investigation.

Per a news release from the New South Wales Police Force, “Officers from Burwood Police Area Command have established a crime scene and commenced an investigation. A male occupant of the vehicle – believed to be related to the child – is assisting with inquiries at Burwood Police Station.”

Local superintendent Christine McDonalds said during a news conference that the investigation was in the beginning stages, according to People. Still, police believe the child may have been left in the car for “an extended period of time.” McDonald added that emergency crews transported the male occupant in the vehicle to a hospital as he suffered shock. She confirmed that he was a “direct relative of the baby.”

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The exact cause of death remains under investigation. McDonald said this occurred “on a very hot day in Sydney.”

McDonald added, “Leaving a child in a vehicle at any time can be dangerous, leaving a child inside a vehicle for an extended period of time can be deadly.”

She said support services are available to those affected by the devastating death. “This is an absolute tragedy, the death of a 1-year-old baby girl,” she shared.

Sadly, this baby’s death brings to light the dangers of leaving a child in a hot car. Many times, these incidents are purely tragic accidents that leave families devastated.

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Dr. Sam Saling told news.com.au that simple mistakes can be deadly.

“Parents can get frazzled when running around doing school pick-ups, carpooling to extra-curricular activities and completing errands, and leaving a child in the car for just a minute can seem innocent,” she said. “But leaving a child in the car on a hot day is one of the most dangerous, life-threatening things one can do.”

Saling added that body temperatures rise quickly, particularly in children.

“The younger a child is, the quicker it takes for their body temperature to rise, and the greater the effects are of heat stress on their little body. Heatstroke is one of the biggest risks. Normally when body temperature rises, either through exercise or a warm environment, the body reacts by sweating,” she told the news outlet.

Saling added, “This in turn cools the body down by sweat reacting with air and evaporating. With no circulating air in a closed car, the sweat can’t evaporate – which means that the body loses its self-regulating way to cool down.”